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Parents and students rally for bill to preserve music, art and PE classes

Public school children exhort passing the HB13 bill during a protest in Raleigh
Public school children exhort passing the HB13 bill during a protest in Raleigh

The protest was led by Save Our Schools NC Parents for HB13, a group started by Renee Sekel, a parent from the Wake County Public School System. The group is calling for the N.C. Senate to pass House Bill 13 — which would provide greater flexibility in class sizes for the 2017-18 school year, so teaching positions for enrichment courses, like art and music could be maintained.

“My kids’ school is over-enrolled significantly,” Sekel said. “There’s no space. We will lose our music room. It’s not the best learning environment.”

Last year, the legislature passed a mandate lowering the required average class size for K-3 grades to be the same as the teacher to student ratio — which varies from around 16 to 18 students per teacher. Opponents say the law limits flexibility for schools to hire enhancement teachers or teacher assistants.

But the change did not include additional funding to accommodate the new requirements. Hiring teachers and creating space for the greater number of classes required is estimated to cost state school districts $188 to $338 million, according to a report by the N.C. Justice Center.

According to the report, districts will have to raise taxes locally to cover these costs. Or in the case of under-resourced districts, programs might be cut.

Mark Jewell, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators and speaker at the rally, said enrichment classes should be considered part of core curricula.

“NCAE and our teachers are supportive of small class sizes,” he said. “But you cannot do it haphazardly, and in a way that jeopardizes the kind of education and the kinds of schools that our students deserve — one that is well rounded, with a diverse curriculum.”

Sandra Turner, a parent from Wake County at the rally, said teacher assistants are vital to her son’s kindergarten experience in special education.

“(TAs) help with additional needs, they help the kids access instruction and access the curriculum and to do their work in the classroom,” she said.

Dov Rosenberg, longtime teacher at Rogers-Herr Middle School in Durham, said he spent spring break job hunting.

“If HB13 doesn’t pass, I will be out of a job,” he said.

Rosenberg criticized Senate leadership for allowing the bill to stall in committee, specifically calling out N.C. Sen. Chad Barefoot, R-Wake, for not taking action.

The bill passed the House in February. But Senate leaders have expressed concern that increasing funds allotted to public schools will not ensure the extra money will go to decreasing class sizes.

And the Justice Center report said many districts might need to buy trailers or convert old classrooms and program rooms into classrooms to accommodate smaller classes.

“Every district is, right now, scrambling to figure out what to do with less money,” Rosenberg said. “The thing is, you can’t do more with less. You can only do less with less. And if we have less teachers, our kids get less.”

state@dailytarheel.com

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